event site access year-round

caps · Since 23 Dec 2010 347 Posts Obsessed

Is there any chance of year-round access for kiters on the grass at the event site? It is so nice to launch and land there outside the main season. Pumping up on the eastern side has been great. Thanks to all who put in time there to get that done. It seems like the launching is the main issue (i.e. out of control launch there yesterday). How about just landing only after launching from the sandbar? There seems to be such high numbers of kiters now that it may be time. Maybe the windsurfers would appreciate their own space by moving them all to the new park or at least just the western most part of the event site grass.

DROCK999 · Since 31 May 2007 852 Posts Left Coast Opinionated

access to the event site is one of the reasons to support the CGKA

Pepi · Mon Apr 18, 11 5:55 pm

Hi Caps :

Your appreciation for the winter access at the Event Site and East pumping section is in return very much appreciated.
It requires a great amount of focussed effort from the CGKA working with the Port of Hood River and the CGWA to negotiate for these amenities to be a regular part of our local kite community access.

Regarding the possibility of gaining full launch access to the Event Site year round, it remains to be seen if this would make sense or not.
Mixed use of the Event Site in the off-season is manageable and allowed because there are typically only a handful of kiters and windsurfers around in the off season to take advantage of this opportunity. Also, the typical off-season kiters are ones that theoretically work together to abide by general safety and courtesy rules (something that is quite challenging to manage during peak season with the majority users being transient visitors).

As it stands right now with the off-season access, we (the CGKA) have already run into a few challenging negotiation situations due to certain kiters (and windsurfers) ignoring common sense rules by jumping/jibing near the shoreline and others ignoring common courtesy and safety measures when launching/landing.
The Event Site had a few kite related incidents in the Fall that jeopardized our privileges and required a certain amount of diplomacy from the CGKA to assure the Port of HR that these were rare and manageable incidents.

If one day the Port of Hood River were to witness a growing number of paid-parking-permit kite users at the Event Site possibly begin to exceed the amount of paid-parking-permit windsurf users at the Event Site, it might catch their attention and encourage some possible discussion for mixed access.
Money talks and paid parking permits speak louder than anything else.

Parking outside the Event Site perimeter and still using the Event Site facilities without paying for it shows the Port of HR another story (*side note - the Port of Hood River does not run on tax revenue). Just some food for thought.

Paying for parking, following the rules, using common courtesy, and becoming shining examples of a sport that the Port of Hood River would like to see more are all traits that could make some real changes on the waterfront.

Who's up to the challenge?
Anyone paid for your parking pass yet?

Pepi · Mon Apr 18, 11 8:38 pm

I should probably put up a disclaimer that I was working late at work and had low blood sugar when I wrote the above post.

Did not mean to come across so coarsely to your question Caps, I apologize if I did.

I am one of two CGKA officer representatives that works directly with the Port of Hood River and is on the Waterfront Recreation Advisory Committee.
Being in this role, I should have written a more meaningful reply to your comment.

At this point in time, it should be recognized that the Port of Hood River has been very generous to the kite community in providing us with what access and amenities that we currently enjoy. The development and maintenance of the Sandbar parking area, the continued launch access from the Marina Beach area, the pump/dry area on the East end of the Event Site, and now an expanded area boundary for the pump/dry area that will extend all the way west to the trees/picnic tables (about a 40' expansion of area).

As for the newly rebuilt Jetties on either side of the Event Site, we are still working with the Port on a safe enough trail allowing kiters access to the water via the East Jetty. There is going to be a period of time that this section of the Event Site will need time to fully recover from the construction work.

Full access to the Event Site is honestly kind of a voodoo thing to talk about since it has been pushed and rehashed over and over so many times. At this point in time, the status quo is pretty good, and hopefully most everyone appreciates the increased access that we have gained each year.
If there were to be any realistic push for shared users or a big change in kite access on the Port of HR real estate, it would be mainly as a result of there being an excessive amount of kiters creating an overwhelming demand for daily and annual passes, so much that the Port then thinks to themselves ' wow, there are a lot of kiters spending money at our launch spots and there is a specific demand for improvments for which others will gladly pay a daily/annual use fee for'.
This is not meant to come across as sarcastic, it is fact, plain and simple.

I, for one, will be bucking up for an annual pass this year, not only with the Port of Hood River, but also with Oregon State Parks, because I spend a lot of time kiting at the Spit and at Oregon State Park waterfront launches.
You get what you pay for and you pay for what you get, and this summer, son, the gettin' will be pretty damn good.

Thanks for taking the time to read my comments.

holly · Since 09 Jul 2006 440 Posts Hood River Obsessed

umm launching from the event site blows!! the wind is pretty shitty and its a family area that is overly populated with windsurfers, families and kiters.. not enough room and its not safe for everyone around you. just be thankful we can use it to set up and dry our kites.. I am against the idea of it being a place to launch during the summer months, too many risks for an already risky sport. if you want to launch from a parking lot go to the spit. in fact you might even be so lucky to have Train launch your kite!

eric · Since 13 Jan 2006 1861 Posts XTreme Poster

I agree with Holly. Too much going on in the summer. I could see a before 10 and after 5 possibility though.

kenja · Since 19 Jun 2008 179 Posts Stoked

I agree with Holly & Eric. The event site can get pretty crazy in the peak times and it would be tough to separate out the kinds, dogs, tourists, and families from the landing/launching area. It would be nice to have a waiver and process for special circumstances like when the sand bar is submerged, though. maybe the CGKA could orga

I didn't realize that the parking revenue was so significant to the Port. I suppose if you do the math, it does add up.

hilton · Since 15 Aug 2008 801 Posts Opinionated

caps · Since 23 Dec 2010 347 Posts Obsessed

First, I can't tell you how much I respect people who jump in there to volunteer their time away from their family and friends for causes such as CGKA. Thank you, Pepi. There are usually 10x the meetings that there should be to get even the smallest of tasks accomplished.

In regards to the Port of Hood, their own mission statement is to "initiate, promote and maintain quality of life and a healthy economy throughout the Port District and the Columbia River Gorge." While they may need to make a profit with parking, they were initially formed to develop industrial land to promote local economies. They should be going out of their ways to promote a sport like kiteboarding. What do think my family does when they drop me off at the event site for a 2-3 hours? They fricken spend money all over town. Kiting is generally a more spendy hobby than others. Those same people spend their money all over the region, providing jobs for the lucky ones who get to live here.

Now do I want to launch a kite mid-summer on the eventsite grass when I literally have to tip-toe through the maze of windsurfing sails? Of course not. In fact, I think you're crazy to even go out from the eventsite then. But when I do show up at the eventsite in June, September or even early in the am during the summer and there are few people on the grass, I think you should be able to pump and go. Yea, you could walk out everytime to the sandbar. But when I have a window to kite, that just means less time on the water. And if you think the eventsite is to sketch to launch, then where do you feel safe besides the sandbar- Stevenson, Rufus, Viento, Rowena.

Again, I appreciate the thankless volunteers who promote our sport. It's always an uphill battle for change. I started this thread because I wanted to keep it out there. I've never been a fan of black and white rules. But how many families or even windsurfers are hanging out on the grass at the eventsite at 9am any day in the summer?

Mark · Tue Apr 19, 11 7:40 am

Make sure to help the cause.... join the CGKA. You need to renew for this year. You can see if you are a current member by the "CGKA" under your avatar.

Thanks
Mark

caps · Since 23 Dec 2010 347 Posts Obsessed

renewed

Windance Crew · Since 18 Apr 2008 473 Posts Hood River Kite Shop Obsessed

There's a lot of valid points here; pay for parking , state your sport, support the CGKA, etc.

But it's also important to remember not to use the launching area as a riding zone. Launch & leave, go upwind . We need to spread out and then there is still room for more people to join us and then we will have less congestion issues.

Bettyboarder · Tue Apr 19, 11 8:11 am

stringy · Since 23 Jun 2006 1735 Posts vancouver XTreme Poster

pepi do you know where to purchase the event site parking pass online? how much for a rv? not even sure if its worth it for out of towners to buy the pass or not.
regarding the port, I do give $1.50 roundtrip everytime I visit friends in WS.
what does the oregon state park pass entitle you to? not sure which state parks you kite at. just trying to plan my budget dollars this summer.

Pepi · Tue Apr 19, 11 9:08 am

Hi Caps -
In regards to the Port of Hood River's mission statement it actually refers to actual economic business development, meaning bringing businesses to the Hood River Valley that create jobs for local people and support economic growth through employment and taxes that in turn pay for our local gov't, education and maintenance systems.

I am not trying to say that your comments about the waterfront activities are not important to the local community, but they typically only contribute to businesses such as ours (sports retail) and possibly some of the food estabilishments.
For the Port of Hood River, most of the recreational waterfront properties are actually quite a financial burden and cost more money to run than they make, of which the Port was not created to actually maintain financially.

This is always a tricky question for me to confront because our business in the summertime is very much driven by the wind and kite community, and we do benefit form the waterfront launches.
But, as a whole, the Hood River Valley community still sees very minimal economic return from the windsports community, especially the kite community (sorry Sad

)
We, the CGKA, are working very hard to change this experience and it will only occur via our communicating more with the kite community and our membership growing and strengthening in recordable numbers.

I very much like your suggestion about pass users indicating what sport they are participating in. We had discussed this at past meetings, but it would be good to reinvest some effort back into this (*I think we might have actually been a little fearful of the actual results due to so many kiters parking outside the Event Site).

RE: Parking outside the Event Site
Just to let most people know, the Port of HR is working on a rearrangement of parking on the roads and sidelots due to emergency access and safety issues.
Parking outside the Event Site will become very limited this coming season.
I will post info as it becomes available.

Stringy :
I purchase an Oregon State parking pass for Rooster Rock, Viento (downwinders to Sandbar),Rowena (east end launch for advanced kiters), and not to be overlooked, the Oregon Coast!
For Parking passes go to:
Port of Hood River - http://www.portofhoodriver.com/
Oregon State Parks -[url] http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PARKS/dayuse_permit.shtml[/url]

Pepi · Tue Apr 19, 11 10:21 am

Just gotta love internet forums.

http://www.iwindsurf.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22108

SalmonSlayer · Since 27 Nov 2005 648 Posts Addicted **CGKA Member**